Gun Carrying Trauma Surgeon-Cop Shares His Thoughts on Firearm Violence

Firearm Pandemic Series Part 3: Doctor carries his ASR-15 rifle on his body along with his medical bag.

Steve Salzman, SO, has seen the results of violence firsthand as a trauma surgeon at Advocate Christ Hospital, a hospital in south suburban Oak Lawn, which at the time had one of the busiest emergency and trauma units serving Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods on the South Side.

He has saved the lives of gunshot victims. And patients have dies in his arms. “I have a 365-degree view of the problems,” he said. The trauma surgeon also worked with pioneering “violence interrupters,” ex-gang members who intervene to try to prevent revenge and escalation of violence, using a public health model to combat violence.

Then, there’s the other Steve Salzman—gun owner, Evergreen Park police officer and a member of the 5th District SWAT team, which provides emergency services to 13 communities in south- western Cook County. He owns several guns as a civilian but also owns sidearms and an assault rifle in his duties as a SWAT team member and a police officer.

Read more here...